


One Step Forward

by Lyndsey08



Series: A/B/O - Janus/Roman [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Apologies, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Engagement, M/M, Mating Bond, Second Chances, Soul Bond, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:02:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyndsey08/pseuds/Lyndsey08
Summary: When Roman and Janus run into Remy on the sidewalk, all of the pain from the past threatens to overwhelm the beta.  Janus does his best to reassure him that they're perfectly fine.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: A/B/O - Janus/Roman [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985770
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	One Step Forward

Several weeks after Janus had come back into Roman’s life, they were walking back to the car after a date when several people passed them on the sidewalk.

“Roman!” a voice called, and the pair froze, turning their heads to see to whom the voice belonged. Janus heard Roman inhale sharply as a tall man with sunglasses grinned and walked back towards them. The man had his hands in the pockets of a nice leather jacket and he grinned widely as he reached the two men.

“Roman, I haven’t seen you in forever babe, how have you been?” Remy asked.

The beta was frozen and Janus could smell the intense distress radiating off his skin. He glanced back up and realized the other man was an alpha. And he made the connection.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” the beta responded shakily, his shoulders tense, “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know, this and that. Who’s this?” Remy asked, nodding to Janus.

“This is my boyfriend, Janus,” Roman said, unconsciously leaning towards the man standing beside him.

“And you are…?” Janus said politely, reaching out to shake the alpha’s hand.

“Remy,” the alpha said, eyes widening just a bit before he schooled his expression, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, as well,” Janus said, voice calm and pleasant.

They made small talk for a few more minutes before Remy winked and went on his way.

Roman wouldn’t meet Janus’ gaze and shoved his hands into his pockets, desperately wishing the last five minutes had never happened.

“Hey,” Janus said softly, reaching out and rubbing the beta’s shoulder soothingly, “It’s alright, Ro, everything’s fine.”

Roman was stuck inside his head, looking distressed. “I’m so sorry that just happened,” the beta finally said, voice strained.

“It was bound to happen eventually, darling, it’s a college campus,” Janus said gently, reaching down to slip his hand into the beta’s, “Let’s go home, Ro.”

Roman clung to the alpha’s hand like a lifeline and allowed himself to be led back to the car. Janus opened the passenger side door and Roman climbed in, shrinking in on himself as soon as he was inside. The alpha slid into his own seat and turned the car on so the heat would warm up around them.

“I know that was uncomfortable but are you alright?” Janus asked gently, reaching out to rub the beta’s leg comfortingly, “You seem pretty upset.”

“I’m so sorry,” Roman said again before shrinking in on himself further and burying his face in his hands. His shoulders shook as he began to sob, startling Janus.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so fucking sorry, Jan,” Roman said miserably, “I swear I’ll never talk to him again. I don’t have his number or any of his contact information, I promise. I deleted everything.”

“Roman, love, calm down, take a breath,” Janus said calmly, leaning over to wrap his arms around the shaking beta.

“Please don’t leave me,” Roman sobbed against the alpha’s chest as he was held tightly.

“Sweetheart, it’s fine. Everything’s okay, I promise. Running into someone on the street isn’t the same as seeking them out, okay? I trust you, I know you won’t go back to him,” the alpha reassured him, stroking his back as he sobbed.

“I won’t, I swear!” Roman insisted, burying himself in the alpha’s chest.

Janus shushed him gently and just held him close for a few minutes until the beta had finally calmed down. The alpha buried his nose in the younger man’s hair and inhaled deeply. Cold rain had started to drizzle against the windshield and the sun had completely set by the time they broke apart.

“Let’s go home,” the alpha suggested, taking Roman’s hand in his own and bringing it up to kiss the back of it before moving to put the car in drive.

Fifteen minutes later, they were back in the apartment. As he moved to toe off his shoes, Janus commented, “It got so cold so fast!”

Roman nodded and followed suit, taking his shoes off and leaving them in the basket by the front door. His eyes were puffy and red from crying so hard in the car and his throat ached as he tried to swallow. He walked into the kitchen, lost in a swirl of negative thoughts as he grabbed a bottle of water. He took a sip of the cool liquid and it was a relief to the soreness. The beta moved to look out the back window at the rain, which was now falling heavily as the wind whipped through the trees in the backyard.

Roman didn’t even register that Janus was speaking to him until he felt two strong arms wrap around him from behind. The alpha held him close, pressing his chest right up against Roman’s back and nuzzled into his hair.

“I can smell how upset you are, darling,” Janus murmured, “I’m not upset or having second thoughts. If you want to talk about it we can, but we don’t have to,” he added calmly in the beta’s ear.

Roman shivered and turned in the alpha’s comforting embrace. He wrapped his arms around the taller man and buried his face against the other man’s chest. After a long while, Janus pulled back just enough to cup Roman’s face, thumbing along his cheek as he stared down into his blue eyes.

“I love you, Ro,” Janus murmured, his heart fluttering as he admitted the words. “And I’m not just saying that because we ran into him tonight. You’re the most important thing in the world to me. It pains my heart when you’re hurting, so what can I do to help right now?”

Roman blinked, a bit startled, “You do?” he asked, tension coiling inside his stomach.

“I do,” Janus smiled, pressing a kiss to the beta’s forehead.

“I love you too, I’ve been wanting to say it for a few weeks now,” Roman said breathlessly, leaning up to kiss the taller man.

“Glad to know it’s not just me,” Janus grinned. “Do you feel like going up to bed to lay down? I’d love to snuggle you…”

Roman huffed a laugh, “Twist my arm,” he teased, pulling away and grabbing the older man’s hand to tug him towards the stairs.

Soon, they were cuddled up together in bed, snuggled under the covers and making small talk between light kisses.

***

Roman was sitting on the sofa, typing away at the keyboard on his laptop when Janus walked through the front door. He set several bags down along with the pizza box before disappearing out the front door again. Roman raised an eyebrow before turning back to finish his paragraph quickly so he could set his paper aside.

The alpha walked back through the door with a huge bouquet of flowers in hand. It was an entire rainbow of colors in one vase: red roses, orange lilies, yellow spray roses, green lemon leaves, blue forget-me-nots, purple alstroemeria and pink snapdragons. The array of colors was stunning and Roman felt himself choke up as the alpha sat them down on the coffee table in front of him.

At a loss for words, Roman looked up at Janus who simply grinned and sat down on the edge of the coffee table.

“Do you know what today is?” Janus asked, his smile still firmly in place.

Roman racked his brain but came up with nothing. Biting his lip, he shook his head.

“It’s the anniversary of the first day we met 5 years ago in the library,” Janus supplied, his eyes bright as he spoke.

“Oh my God, you’re right!” Roman said, instantly feeling a swell of affection at the reminder. He thought for a moment before adding very quietly, “I thought about that the other day but didn’t really think you’d want to celebrate that since we’ve broken up since then…”

Janus smiled gently and plucked one of the blue forget-me-nots out of the arrangement. He sank down onto his knees in front of the sofa and held it out to a very confused beta.

“I know that we’ve been through a lot over the past year,” Janus started softly, “All of these have a different meaning but this one is by far my favorite. Forget-me-nots can symbolize lots of things like true love, fidelity or truthfulness, but my favorite is a long-lasting connection.” He handed the beta the sprig of flowers and placed one hand on his knee gently as he continued, “I want to give you every part of myself, Ro, and I’m praying that you want to keep this connection with me so we can start a new chapter in our lives together. I love you so very much, and I truly believe we can build a life together... if you want that with me.”

“Jan…” Roman choked out, staring down at the blue flowers in his hand, trying to come up with the perfect response. He finally admitted this aloud, “I...don’t have the perfect, romantic line to tell you, Jan. But...I promise I’ll love and cherish you every day for the rest of our lives. If you really think we can have a life together even after everything I’ve put you through, I’m totally in. And I promise to love you forever.”

Janus bit his lip, “Will you be my mate, Ro?” he asked, to which the beta immediately responded, “Yes!” Roman leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the alpha, who hugged him back tightly.

“Thank you for giving me this chance…” Roman murmured into the alpha’s shoulder, feeling pure joy coursing through his veins as they held onto one another.

“You’re giving me a chance, too, my love, we’re in this together,” Janus reminded him, kissing him sweetly before pulling back.

“There is one more thing…” the alpha added, taking both of Roman’s hands in his own. Roman blinked at him, wondering what else there could possibly be at this point.

“Will you marry me?” Janus asked, his voice shaking as he stared up at Roman. 

The beta felt like the world was moving in slow motion. “Really?” he asked in disbelief, feeling like he might explode at any moment.

Janus nodded, “I know lots of couples just mate but I’d like to share everything I possibly can with you, Ro,” he elaborated, looking a bit nervous.

“Yes! Oh my God, yes...” Roman said, feeling tears well up in his eyes as he cupped the alpha’s face between his hands.

Janus held up one finger and reached into his pocket, pulling out a box. He handed it to the stunned beta, who opened it with shaking hands. A rose gold ring with three inset diamonds lay against the cushion of the box. It was a little feminine, a little fun...just like Roman and he smiled brilliantly at it’s perfection.

He felt tears sliding down his face and he wrapped Janus into a tight embrace once more, murmuring words of love into the alpha’s ear.


End file.
